[For 3-year-olds] Perfect January Winter & New Year Crafts! A Collection of Fun, Hands-On Ideas
Do you find yourself wondering every year what to make with the children in January’s childcare activities? It can be surprisingly hard to find crafts that three-year-olds will enjoy while taking in New Year’s motifs and the feeling of winter.
In this guide, we’ll share ideas you can enjoy together with three-year-olds—from New Year-perfect projects like paper plate spinning tops, kagami mochi, and shishimai (lion dance), to wintery crafts like fluffy sheep and snowmen.
Activities that use hands and fingertips, such as finger stamping, finger painting, and origami, will spark children’s curiosity.
Some of the things you make can also be played with afterward, so please use these ideas for inspiration! Because the children’s creations are treated as artworks, we use the term “seisaku” (production/artwork) in the text.
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[For 3-year-olds] Perfect winter and New Year crafts for January! A collection of fun, hands-on ideas (101–110)
a round and laid-back penguin
This is an easy and cute origami penguin.
First, turn the paper over and make two creases by folding it in half both ways into a square.
Fold one edge down to align with the center crease.
Flip it over, then fold the left and right edges to the center line.
Open the colored corner and squash-fold it.
Fold the bottom edge up to the center to make a crease, open it once, then fold the bottom tip inward along that crease.
Fold the corners to form the feet.
Fold the protruding colored corner to suggest the hands.
Finally, round off the colored tip to finish! Decorate it cutely with round stickers or a pen.
Penguin money envelope
This is a cute penguin folding method that’s perfect for New Year’s gift envelopes.
First, place the origami colored side up, fold it into a triangle twice, then open it once.
Fold both layers of the top corner down to meet the bottom edge to make creases.
Make another crease by folding only the top layer of the top corner down so it sticks out slightly past the bottom center.
Fold only the top layer of the top corner down to align with the bottom crease.
Next, fold along the upper crease, then fold the tip upward so it peeks out a little.
Fold back the part sticking out at the top.
Turn it over and fold both corners toward the center so the tips overlap.
Tuck one corner into the other.
Finally, draw the face with a pen, and you’re done!
Picture matching cards
A matching card game played with two sheets of paper bearing the same illustration.
Why not create a game you can play with children using your own original drawings? On plain white paper, draw illustrations such as daruma dolls or animals from the zodiac.
Make two copies of each illustration and paste them onto construction paper.
If it’s hard to tell matches by the drawings alone, writing the names like in karuta is also recommended.
Even after you finish making them, they can be enjoyed as a card game.
New Year wall decorations
@chooobo2 New Year’s craft 🎍 This time I combined a snake, a daruma, and a shishimai (lion dance) into one project ✨ We made patterns using various techniques like stamping and finger painting 🎨 For parts drawn with crayons—like the snake’s coils or the daruma’s patterns—it’s easier to draw them before gluing them onto the base sheet 🖍️ I’ve posted how to make the stamp for the shishimai pattern in a previous post! The paper sizes are shown near the end of the video 🎥 The snake, daruma, and shishimai faces used in this project will be available through my Instagram subscription! I’ll also share cut-and-use materials so you can start crafting right away ✨ (Check the video for details about what’s included.) Give it a try ✂️ ————————————— With the subscription materials, you can save all resources from the past three months after they’re released! If you want to know which materials are currently savable, please check my Instagram Highlights ✨ The materials shown in Highlights are the ones you can save now! —————————————#Childcare Crafting#Nursery School Craft# January productionNew Year’s craft
♬ Perfect Night (Sped Up ver.) – LE SSERAFIM
Cute with finger painting and stamps! Here are some New Year craft ideas recommended for 3-year-olds.
Use finger painting to make the daruma on a 11.5 cm × 11.5 cm drawing paper.
For the shishimai (lion dance) pattern, stamp using a spiral made from cardboard.
For the snake pattern, stamp with your fingers.
Paste washi-style origami on the top and bottom of a 34.5 cm × 15.5 cm colored paper, then attach the pieces you made onto the colored paper.
Add the face parts and attach a string to finish! It’s recommended because you can enjoy it every year by changing the zodiac face parts.
Round Lion Dance
Just stuff it with tissue paper and colored cellophane! Here’s a cute, round shishimai (lion dance) craft recommended for 3-year-olds.
What you’ll need: construction paper, tissue paper, colored cellophane, a clear-lidded cup, round stickers, crayons or pens, cellophane tape, and glue.
First, put the tissue paper and colored cellophane into the clear-lidded cup.
Stick on round stickers with spirals drawn using a pen or crayon.
Make the shishimai parts from construction paper.
Finally, attach the face parts to the clear-lidded cup to finish!
[For 3-year-olds] Perfect winter & New Year crafts for January! A special collection of fun, hands-on ideas (111–120)
Sparkly Snowman
@chii_1514m Sparkling Translucent Winter Craft [Snowman]#Production video#Wall Creation#Kindergarten#Nursery schoolWinter ProductionWall decorationSnowman#Christmas#CapCut
♬ Jingle Bell EDM Christmas Snow(910545) – The Structures
Simple yet cute! Here’s a craft for making a sparkly, see-through snowman with cellophane.
You’ll need: parchment paper, a snowman-shaped piece of construction paper with the body area cut out, clear tape, finely cut pieces of cellophane, and snowman parts made from colored construction paper.
First, place the snowman-shaped paper on the parchment paper and apply double-sided tape.
Peel off the backing from the tape, then stick on the small pieces of cellophane.
Add the hat, carrot nose, mittens, and scarf made from colored paper, draw the face, and you’re done!
A cute snowman with a straw stamp
@hoikusi1 How to make a snowman with straw stamping: Winter craft for ages 3 and up. We’ll clearly show how to make a snowman using straw stamping in a video. Perfect for winter crafts for children aged 3 and older.ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare worker#NurseryTeacher#FirstYearNurseryTeacher#Childcare Crafting#Nursery School Craft#Making PlayorigamiOrigamiOrigami playEarly childhood education materials#Childcare topicTama-go for Nursery Teachersworktranslation#ChristmasFunSnowmanStraw
♪ Original Song – Manual for First-Year Nursery Teachers – Manual for First-Year Nursery Teachers
The straw stamp is so cute! Here’s a recommended winter craft for 3-year-olds: how to make an adorable snowman.
Prepare construction paper with circles for the snowman’s head and body and a hat drawn on it, a colored sheet for the background, glue, a pen, white paint, and crayons.
First, use scissors to cut out the snowman shapes from the paper together with the child.
Glue the cut pieces onto the background paper.
Draw the face and other details with a pen or crayons.
Next, cut about 1 cm slits into a straw, dividing the tip into about five sections.
Make stamp ink with white paint, and stamp snowflakes using the straw stamp.
All done!